


Maybe So, Maybe No

by inmyfashion



Category: Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: AU of something, F/M, Huddling for Warmth Trope, Veronica Mars Holiday Fic Fest, post MKAT?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 19:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5510135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inmyfashion/pseuds/inmyfashion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mac and Dick get stuck in a cold storage and end up huddling for warmth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe So, Maybe No

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HappilyShanghaied](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappilyShanghaied/gifts).



> I am terrible at summaries, and I hope this story lives up to your hopes, HappilyShanghaied. Happy Holidays! Based on a prompt for the Veronica Mars Holiday Gift Exchange. I kind of extrapolated on the prompt, and I hope that's to your liking. All the best, Jen.

“Are you sure you don’t have your phone? Or some other sort of gizmo you can rig up? Aren’t you genius or something?”

Mac turned her head, a deep frown covering her face.

“No, I do not have my phone, Dick,” Mac said with an exasperated sigh. “And why would I need to rig something up if I had it? I could just…you know, call or text someone.”

“Seems less spy like and fun, but alright.”

Mac let her head fall back against the cool, textured wall of the fridge they were currently stuck in. She had not expected the narrow space, though she’d never been in a cold storage of kegs before, so had no particular frame of reference.

The smallish room held beer kegs, some of which were connected by taps to the wall, others waiting patiently for their turn to be imbibed. There were racks on the opposite side of the space filled with boxes of bottled import beers from all over the world.

It was a distinctive and impressive collection.

Looking back, there’d really been no reason to follow Dick, other than to make sure he didn't cause a problem for Veronica and Logan and their little makeshift wedding reception, and to save herself from the somewhat sickeningly sweet newlywed show.

She smiled as she thought about the so very Veronica and Logan approach to their wedding day. She'd been there early on for the fight that'd initially ensued when Veronica hadn't wanted to set a date and Logan was chomping at the bit to seal the deal. 

Mac didn't know exactly how the compromise was reached, but they’d finally managed to do it, and got married, out of the spotlight, once Logan’s final duty was up. They’d had a small, civil ceremony, held at the courthouse, complete with only the closest of friends and family. 

Followed of course by food, because Veronica wouldn't have it any other way. 

“Won't someone come looking for you since, you know, you own the place?” Mac asked turning to look at Dick. 

Of all the transformations their motley crew had made, Dick’s was by in large the most startling.

Mac still didn’t quite know what to make of him, part leery and part shocked that anyone could make such a turn around.

(She often reminded herself that Logan had also made quite the shift, but Dick had stayed in the entitled rich boy phase for much longer than Logan.)

Dick owned a number of restaurants between Neptune and San Diego, all with various themes, but unified under one banner company Dick had created.

This particular restaurant ranked as a favorite for Logan and a begrudging Veronica, who would be more likely to chew off her own arm than admit that Dick Casablancas could do something right.

“No,” Dick began. “They all know that I’m hosting a private party. Plus, my manager here is really excellent. No need to find me.”

“Great,” Mac muttered. A sudden chill hit her and she shivered violently against the cold of the walk-in.

“Here,” Dick intoned from beside her. She turned to see him holding out his blazer, a deep navy, obviously made of very expensive fabric.

Mac lifted an eyebrow and waited. Did she want to take Dick’s jacket? Was Dick Casablancas really offering her his jacket…like a gentleman?

“Yeah, don’t be so shocked. I’m not exactly a monster, Mackenzie.”

“Oh,” Mac breathed out, realizing she’d said that last part aloud. “Sorry. Thank you,” she said as she reached for the jacket, slipping it around her shoulders. The scent of saltwater and something a little spicy hit her as she shuttled her arms into the silk lined sleeves. She wrapped the jacket around herself, thankful for the extra layer to ward of the chill of the fridge.

“Surely someone’s got to come back here when a keg gets tapped, right?” Mac asked. She watched as Dick stood and walked over to the six kegs that were plugged into the wall.

He tested their heft and shook his head. “They’re all pretty full.”

“Well, what about someone coming back for some beer to stock the bar?”

He shook his head again and slid back down the wall to sit beside her. “Nope. The bar was fully stocked before we opened, chances of running out this early in the shift are unlikely.”

Mac groaned and banged her head against the wall a few times. “Well, this sucks.”

They sat in silence for a moment, neither of them keen to change that. Mac shivered again and pulled the jacket tighter around her.

“At least you’re here,” Dick said, breaking into the silence. “Someone will actually come looking for you.”

Mac scoffed. “Maybe. The question becomes will we freeze to death before that happens?”

“This room is set a forty-five degrees. We won’t freeze to death,” Dick replied matter-of-factly.

“Fine, before we get really, really uncomfortably cold.”

“Wallace will find us. Or maybe Keith.”

Mac raised an eyebrow. “I would think the first person to find us would probably be Veronica, ya know, with the whole sleuthing thing.”

“Have you seen the way Ronnie and Logan have been looking at one another?” Dick asked. “I don’t even know if they know there are other people around. Ten to one they sneak off somewhere for a quickie.”

Mac screwed up her face at the thought, but couldn’t deny that Dick’s words had merit.

“Okay, so waiting it is,” Mac said, and they descended into silence once more.

Mac took to counting the different brands of beer on the far wall, rearranging letters and numbers as a way to keep her mind occupied and away from the man sitting beside her.

Dick drummed a steady rhythm against the floor, shifting every now and again in an attempt to get comfortable.

“This is a really nice restaurant,” Mac spoke, shivering hard once more. “I’ve never been here before, but I’ve had the food from here. Veronica loves it, even if she won’t say it out loud.”

When Dick didn’t respond, she turned to look at him, startled to see him staring at her. “You can move closer, you know,” he said with a shrug. “You’re really cold, and the body heat might help.”

Mac bit her lip, trying to decide on his genuineness, but when another chill hit her, she decided his intentions were less important than being warm.

She scooted over, so her shoulder bumped against his, the side of her right leg pressed fully against his left.

“Thanks,” she said, holding in a sigh. She startled slightly when his arm reached around her shoulders, pulling her closer into his side. She felt a shock—a bolt of heat race through her.

Biting her lip, she tilted her head away to look at him. He really was incredibly pretty to look at. She shook herself of the thought and dropped her gaze, pressing closer to his side, trying valiantly to ignore the constant spark of awareness.

“And thank you for the compliment,” he said softly. “Turns out I’m not a complete screw up after all.”

Mac turned her gaze back to his, and was startled by the hard expression there. “Well, you found something you’re good at. That’s usually what it takes to find your way, right?”

He let out a little laugh, but the sound didn’t hold any humor. “Very diplomatically put, Mackie.”

“Don’t call me that,” she hurried to say, pressing an elbow into his side. “I just mean, that we all get to where we’re going in our own time.”

“I suppose. We can’t all be super geniuses like you.” He squeezed her shoulder for a moment, then let his grip slacken a little. “By the way, why’d you give up working at Kane to throw your lot back in with Ronnie?”

Mac shrugged and the movement did nothing but make her more of aware of him against her. “Lots of reasons.”

“Weren’t you making good money at Kane?”

“Yeah? So?” she challenged. “Money’s not everything.”

“It certainly isn’t,” Dick replied.

Mac’s jaw dropped a little and Dick smiled at her. “Shocking coming from me, right? But…I don’t know. While Logan was away doing his flyboy training, I partied—hard. With people who weren’t my friends, just leeches. And look what they did to Logan, without a second thought, and I just sat by and let it happen. I didn’t suspect a thing, because why should I? Logan’s the only real friend I’ve got. The only family.”

Dick paused and pulled his knees in, resting his free arm on top of them.

“Anyway,” he continued, “I just don’t put much stock in it anymore. I mean, it’s great and all, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it just makes things so much worse.”

Mac resisted the urge to place her hand on top of his. “Well,” she cleared her throat, “that’s…good. I mean, that you’ve come to understand that, I mean.”

“Yeah, I’m not still the idiot you hated in high school and college.”

“I didn’t hate you.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

Mac shivered and pressed closer to his side. “It…wasn’t hate exactly. I mostly didn’t think of you at all.”

“Ouch.”

“Oh please, like you gave any thought to me,” she laughed. “You were too concerned with the girls throwing themselves at you and raging keggers to pay any attention to me. Well, other than coming to my room and—“

Mac paused and looked away from him. “Well…”

“Did I ever say sorry for that, Mac?”

“Mhmm,” she responded. “In a way. You apologized, drunkenly, and tried to kiss me, drunkenly.”

“Yeah.” Dick coughed and brought a hand up to scratch at the back of his neck. “That I remember. The almost kissing part, I mean.”

“Mmm.”

“Look, Mac, I know you think I’m an idiot, and a screw up—“

“Dick—“

“Just, wait. Listen, please?” Dick asked with such a look of contrition on his face that all Mac could do was nod and let him continue. “I owe you probably more apologies than I can ever muster, but I’d like to try. I’m sorry. For how I treated you after…for what I said to you about Cass, it wasn’t true, and I’m—“

“Dick,” Mac interrupted again. “We don’t have to do this. It was years and years ago. You don’t owe me anything. I’ve moved past that now, and—”

“But I do,” he replied emphatically. “I absolutely do. I owe you an apology, I owed Cass about a million apologies. My therapist says I suffer from something called _hyper-masculinity_ and that my dad and I are culpable for what happened to him. And that I try to push my part of the blame off on others. Like you. You didn’t deserve that Mac. Any of it. And I’m sorry for what Cassidy put you through.”

“You have a therapist?” Mac asked after reflecting for a moment.

He shrugged. “This is Southern California. Doesn’t everybody?”

Mac laughed a little and turned her body a little until she could almost face him. “The only thing that you need to apologize for are the things that you did. And thank you for that.” She paused for a beat. “Where is all of this coming from anyway?”

Dick shrugged again. “I just don’t want you to think I’m still a screw up.”

“I don’t think you’re a screw up, Dick.”

“I got us locked in a walk-in fridge, Mac.”

“Touché,” she smiled. “But that could’ve happened to almost anyone. And it’s not like you planned this for any nefarious reasons…is it?”

“No,” he laughed. “If I wanted to get you alone somewhere, I’d hope I’d do better than getting you locked in a very cold storage space.”

“Yeah, it’s so likely that we’d ever be alone somewhere on purpose,” she said on a laugh.

Dick went silent again. The look in his clear blue eyes startled her—she’d never seen anyone look at her so intently.

“Is it such a crazy idea?”

“Yes,” Mac blurted. “Absolutely insane. Especially since you’ve never shown a lick of interest in me—at least not while sober.”

“Okay.”

“And beyond today,” she continued, “you’ve maybe said a total of ten words to me. So yes, Dick. I do think it’s a bit of a crazy idea.”

“Okay,” he lifted his hands in surrender, removing his arm from around her shoulder. “I get it. No need to beat me over the head with it. You’re not interested. So noted.”

Mac turned and rested back against the wall, letting the thought of her and _Dick Casablancas_ run through her head. It was absurd. Utterly and completely ridiculous and without any real merit. And yet…

“Have you thought about it a lot?” Mac asked him. “I mean…you know. Have you?”

Dick sighed. “Yes I have.”

“Why?” she asked, utterly perplexed. “We make no sense together, Dick. None.”

“Maybe not,” he agreed, “but, would it hurt to try and find out?”

Mac shook her head. “It could.”

“Or it could be…I don’t know. It could be great.”

“Uh—“ Mac started to reply, but the groaning sound of the fridge door being opened stopped her. She moved away from Dick just as Logan’s head popped around the corner of the fridge.

“Yeah, not exactly what I was expecting,” Logan quipped. “But close.”

“Stuck in a fridge is a new one, even for you Dick,” Veronica said from beside him. She turned her gaze to Mac and smiled. “We hadn’t seen you in a while. And started to worry.”

“Can’t believe you two came out of your love haze long enough for that to happen,” Dick said earning him a scowl from Veronica. “How’d you find us?”

“Finding people is all a part of what I do, Dick,” Veronica said. “And when people saw you come in this direction, and not come back, well, not exactly rocket science.”

Veronica walked over to Mac and held out a hand. “Come on, popsicle. Let’s get some liquor in you, warm you up.”

Mac smiled and took Veronica’s hand, levering herself off the floor. Her legs and butt hurt, and she desperately needed something to drink to help sort her scattered thoughts.

She pulled off Dick’s jacket and handed it back to him. “Thanks,” she said lightly, moving to leave the walk-in with Veronica. When she got to the threshold she paused and looked back at him.

“It—it might hurt a lot,” she began, “but maybe it’ll be fun.”

Dick watched her walk away, a maniacal grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Hey,” Logan called out, waving a hand in front of Dick’s face and startling him back into the present.

“Hey, thanks for finding me, man.”

Logan shrugged. “The Mrs. wondered where her friend was. We would’ve been here sooner by we got side-tracked along the way and—“

“Yeah, no thanks. I don’t want to picture where in my restaurant you and Ronnie did the nasty.”

Dick put his jacket back on, liking the fact that Mac’s light scent lingered on the fabric.

“Hey,” Logan started, “I don’t know what happened in here, but just…don’t screw it up this time, yeah?”

Dick nodded. “I don’t plan on it.”

_FIN_


End file.
